Free Power Play by Sophia Henry

Older brother is perfect. Younger siblings get everything they want. Stuck in the middle, overlooked by the success of the oldest and the needs of the youngest.”
    It was a joke, it really was, since Landon seemed to me to be the most successful of the Taylor brothers. But instead of laughing, Landon dropped his eyes to his lap and began picking at his cuticles. Which told me my exaggerated rant about middle-child stereotypes hit the cliché nail on the head without even realizing it.
    “Oh, sorry.”
    “When you put it that way, I sound like an ungrateful jerk.”
    “I didn’t mean that. I was—”
    “You’re absolutely correct, Gaby,” he interrupted my apology. “I
am
an ungrateful jerk. I just don’t know how to rectify the situation.”
    The silence between us sat heavy and thick, like a soggy sleeping bag left outside during a rainstorm at a campsite.
    “My parents adopted my older brother, Jason. Did you know that?”
    I shook my head. So that’s what he meant when he’d said he was the only one born into the family.
    “My mom and dad wanted kids right away. They barely wanted to wait until Dad was done with medical school. Mom said she was born to be around kids. She wanted to be a mother and a teacher her whole life.” Landon paused to take a sip of his beer. “The teaching part came about right away. She got a job and Dad went to school and worked nights as a grave digger.”
    “No way.” I leaned back quickly and my chair wobbled with the impact of my surprise. As I reached for the bar to save my fall, Landon held my chair, keeping me steady. “Thanks.”
    “Crazy job. I know. But he had to work. And he needed time for school and studying, so he needed a job with odd hours. Anyway, after a few years of trying and a few years of testing, they still didn’t get pregnant. They couldn’t afford in vitro, so they looked into adoption. Mom didn’t care if the kids came out of her body. She just wanted kids. They found Jason through an adoption service. A few years later Mom got pregnant, on her own, with me.”
    “That’s awesome.” I reached out to touch the hand, resting on his leg.
    “Yeah. I know Mom and Dad were both really excited. Surprised, but happy, ya know?” he asked.
    I nodded. In my multiple interactions with Sharon and Charlie Taylor at the stores, they seemed like stand-up people. I can’t imagine they ever treated Landon poorly.
    “For the longest time, I was the baby. The miracle child they showered with attention. When I was around ten, my parents decided to start taking in foster kids. They’ve probably had thirty or more come through the house over the last eleven years. And it was awesome. It felt good to be able to help these kids that came from such horrible situations. And sure, it felt good to have someone look up to me for a change. Then they adopted Calvin and Nathan three years ago and all these really jealous feelings came out of nowhere.
    “Up until then, I never thought Mom and Dad loved any of the other kids more than me. Then my younger brothers came along. Everything changed with them. Everything revolved around them. Ten-year-old twins who stole my parents’ hearts and time and attention. I sound like a jerk.”
    Yes, you do,
I thought.
    “Thanks for not judging, Gaby.” Landon’s sarcastic jab slapped me upside the head.
    Whoops.
    “Well, I’m sorry, but you do. Your parents are wonderful people. You’re jealous because they started giving more attention to two kids from a screwed-up home whose parents didn’t even want them than they did their successful hockey-playing
adult
son who they’d raised and loved their whole lives? Sorry if I don’t feel bad for you.”
    “I know I sound horrible and selfish. I don’t want to be.” He leaned back, taking a deep breath and tilting his head toward the ceiling. “I just don’t know how to make the feelings go away. Every time someone else gets called up to the NHL, I feel like I’m missing an